The reason that it’s so rare to see footage like this is because there are simply not many of these planes around. Only 90 CL-415s were built and they’re not used on a continuous basis. As of this writing, we’ve only seen two of these water bombers in action from this vantage point. According to the description of the video, this took place in Portugal and the crew was getting water from Rio Douro. You can actually see them pass over a dam before dipping down and getting to work. (www.youtube.com) More...

Another possible reason for the rarity might be operator policies discouraging GoPro cameras on the flight deck. 2016 saw two stationed at South Lake Tahoe (KTVL) to good effect. Local campgrounds and boat launches displayed warnings to watch out for their operations.

Years ago I was driving around on logging roads in northern Ontario in a VW beetle sunroof when I came across a large cleared area with stakes that had cans on them and a water bomber making practice runs. On their next run they spotted a great target, and this time aimed directly at me. By the time I realized what was happening I managed to get the top closed but the driver's window was still open. I was drenched but couldn't help laughing at how much fun they just had.

The pilots have full control over the filling by raising and lowering 2 intake probes. The zero fuel weight is entered into the water bombing control computer before each mission, bugs appear on the fill indicators. The pilot not flying monitors the filling and raises the probes once gross weight is achieved. As the fuel burns off the bugs go higher.

The weight is loaded right on the center of gravity . There is a sudden rise when the load is released in a salvo, less the one second but it's easily controlled by a slight forward input on the controls.